October is upon us – a month so busy in the Hub City that it’s sometimes referred to as TMO (Too Much October) and where Bingo Cards have previously been made to see if we can do everything there is to do this month.
Our calendars are full of fun and exciting things to do. At UBC alone, we’re helping Edwards Street with Empty Bowls tonight (10/2), hosting Claire Holley on Friday (10/4) for Back Door, sponsoring and volunteering at Pride in the Park next Saturday (10/12), cheering on Kat as she rides in Civil Rides from Montgomery to Marion County, AL in support of Together for Hope, Trunk or Treat in Midtown (10/22), hosting a fundraiser headlined by Lawrence LaBeaud (10/25) to help raise support to make our facilities accessible and available to everyone, and this doesn’t even mention the times we’ll gather to worship, to eat, and share in community together like we do every week of every month.
Even though all of this is exciting and energizing activity, it can be tiring just reading all of that and wondering how we can do it all, can’t it? As we enter busy seasons, no matter how life-giving or energizing they may be, it’s important for us to also take time to be still, to be quiet, and to listen. We often call these times sabbath. Sabbath is vital to our health as individuals and as a community.
Sabbath not only allows us to reflect and recharge, but to imagine and dream. In addition to all the opportunities to connect that come up this month, October also happens to be when Children’s Sabbath occurs. Sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund, this annual event brings faith communities together to pray for children, to “raise awareness of problems facing children and families in our nation, to explore the texts and teachings in religious traditions that call us to nurture and protect children, and to engage people of faith in immediate and long-term action to nurture, protect, and seek justice for children.”
It’s such a joy to look out from the pulpit and see or walk up the steps toward the Godly Play room or to be surrounded on the steps in our sanctuary by all the children in our midst. UBC’s children are lucky to have a such beautiful community in which to grow. We know that not all children are so lucky. This year, Children’s Sabbath will be October 20. We’ll be handing out more information, including some prayers, in our Sunday School classes in the coming weeks and we’ll have them available in the office as well.
So, while we run from fun event to fun event this month, We invite you to take time to pray, reflect, and dream of a world in which all God’s children enjoy lives full of love and joy, surrounded by caring and compassionate friends and adults everywhere they go.
Kat and Brett
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